Ministers signal slow down on flagship free school policy

Ministers have quietly dropped a key manifesto pledge to open “at least” 100 free schools a year over the Parliament, i can reveal.

The move signals that the Government is looking to rein in its flagship free schools policy after years of pledges to open hundreds more of the schools.

Just two years ago, former Prime Minister David Cameron declared his party “should not waiver” from opening hundreds more of the schools.

But on Wednesday, Schools Minister Lord Nash stated it was important not to have too much “over capacity” of school places in the system as a result of the free school policy.

Speaking to journalists, the Tory peer said: “We created a lot of places, we’ve created about three-quarters of a million new places in the last six years.

“So I think now, we need to be a little bit, you know, more selective about where we put them, where there is need, where they’re innovative.”

The comments signal a dramatic departure from the Government’s previous stance on free schools, which had committed to open hundreds more of the schools by the end of the Parliament.

When asked directly if it was still Government policy to open 100 free schools a year as promised in the Conservative manifesto, the Department for Education stated it remained “committed to an ambitious free schools programme”.

Early signs that the DfE was cooling on the policy came in July when Education Secretary Justine Greening announced she was to raid the free schools budget to increase school funding overall.

It comes after the free schools programme came under serious fire from the National Audit Office in February, which criticised the Government for spending billions on free schools while allowing existing school buildings to deteriorate.

Then in April, MPs condemned the policy branding it “incoherent and too often poor value for money”.

The Public Accounts Committee also warned that the Government was spending “over the odds” for sites to build free schools on.

“While the department is spending significant funds in creating 500 more free schools, even in areas with no shortage of places, existing schools struggle to live within their budgets and carry out routine maintenance,” the report said.

“There are 473 open free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools, including 52 new schools that opened this month. A further 321 proposals are in our pipeline, working towards opening in future years. In addition to the schools already open and those working towards opening, we announced additional funding in the last budget to help fund up to 140 new free schools.”

iNews

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